9 Church Growth Leverage Points All Church Consultants Need to Know (Part 2 of 3)

In the first part of this series we talked about the first three leverage points that serve as catalysts for or limiters of growth in a congregation. They are:

1.A solid community of faith,

2. Owned and managed purpose, vision and values

3. Indigenous worship

If the first two aren’t strong, none of the other levers for growth will matter much. To read more about the first three levers I invite you to read Part 1 of my blog series.

4. A Mobilized Congregation

We want to see 80% of the congregation involved in some form of ministry, small group, or both. To get to this high level of mobilization, there needs to be:

A farm system (like in baseball) that identifies, recruits, equips, deploys, and coaches people in ministry.

A habit that paid staff hand-off most of what they are doing.

Accountability that is fundamentally different than volunteer management. People serve as servants not as volunteers.

A focus on multiplication of leaders

5. Redemptive Missional Opportunities

You cannot separate evangelism and social justice and be biblical. The church isn’t a service organization; it is a transformative organization. As a consultant, you need to be aware of the fact that the more people a church sends into the community, the more likely the church is to grow.

People are never equipped in committees they are equipped in mission. So as you work with a church, you need to minimize the numbers of people in committees so that more might be in mission. Many churches treat ministry, outreach, and mission as the same thing. However, the primary mission is now in the backyard rather than overseas.

6. Organized around its DNA instead of a generic structure.

There is no one form of organization since the DNA should dictate the organization. This is why top-down, imposed denominational organizational structures seldom work. Restructuring usually comes toward the end of any transition. Seldom does it do any good to begin by restructuring. Form should follow function.

Stay tuned to discover the final three church growth leverage points!

Learn more about the craft of consulting from Bill Easum at the one-day intensive on October 19. It is a part of the requirements for becoming a Path 1 recommended coach and would be good for those of you who are thinking about consulting or actively doing consulting with churches.